Biden to warn about the dangers of ‘MAGA forces’ in prime-time speech

President Biden on Thursday will warn in a prime-time speech that “MAGA forces are determined to take this country backward” as he makes the case that the Make America Great Again movement led by former President Trump poses a danger to the nation.

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love,” Biden is poised to say in Philadelphia, according to advanced excerpts released by the White House.

The White House has billed Biden’s speech as one about “the soul of the nation” and the threats facing American democracy.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday said the speech would be “optimistic” despite the serious subject matter, and she disputed that it would focus on Trump.

But the excerpts make clear Biden will single out the former president’s movement, tying it to recent attacks on law enforcement and the Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that found a person’s right to abortion to be constitutional.

“So tonight I have come here to the place where it all began to speak plainly to the nation about the threats we face,” Biden will say, according to the excerpts. “About the power we have in our own hands to meet those threats. And about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.”

“For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed,” the excerpt reads. “But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us.”

Biden has in recent weeks become more assertive in calling out “MAGA Republicans.” At a political rally last week in Maryland, Biden described the movement as akin to “semi-fascism.”

On Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Biden referenced “MAGA Republicans” multiple times as he invoked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, condemning attacks from some Republicans on law enforcement.

Some Republicans have criticized Biden for his comments, arguing he campaigned on a pledge to unite the country and lower the temperature of the nation but is using inflammatory rhetoric by comparing conservatives to fascists.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is giving a speech in Scranton, Pa., hours before Biden to criticize his record and recent comments.